French researcher home after Iran trial ordeal

Young French academic Clotilde Reiss flew home from Iran on Sunday, 10 months after she was arrested and accused of spying, as France denied striking a secret deal with Tehran.A government jet brought the 24-year-old researcher to an airbase outside Paris after her lawyer paid Iran a fine of more than a quarter of a million dollars, and she was whisked to the office of President Nicolas Sarkozy.

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PARIS — Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy was in police custody Tuesday, apparently under questioning in an investigation linked to allegations that he took $50-million in illegal campaign funds from Libya’s Muammar Gaddafi.
But will the shocking detention and sordid case torpedo Sarkozy’s chances at a presidential comeback?
Maybe not.
Sarkozy, a political survivor who’s been touring the world with his pop singer wife, is still among the most popular politicians in France despite a pile of investigations that target him.

A young French academic who was arrested in Iran and accused of spying firmly denied Wednesday that she had been working for France's overseas intelligence service.Clotilde Reiss, 24, was allowed to leave Iran on Saturday, 10 months after she was arrested and accused of gathering information on anti-government protests, a charge both she and the French government insist was false.On her return to Paris, however, a former member of the DGSE spy agency promoting a controversial memoir on his own life in the service claimed she had indeed been a French intelligence asset.

PARIS — Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy’s car wheeled out of the court parking lot in the dead of night Wednesday after he was charged in a corruption probe, a televised reminder of just how often France’s political elite is charged with wrongdoing in office.
The former conservative party leader, whose political comeback has been floated by his faltering UMP party, had been in custody answering questions from judicial officials. His personal lawyer, Thierry Herzog, and magistrate Gilbert Azibert were also questioned.

A French court on Tuesday released Iranian agent Ali Vakili Rad on parole, his lawyer said, just days after a young French academic accused of spying in Tehran was allowed to return home.Vakili Rad was serving a life sentence for murdering the Shah's last prime minister, Shapour Bakhtiar, at his home outside Paris in August 1991 and he became eligible for parole last year.His lawyer Sorin Margulis said a sentencing court agreed on Tuesday to release the Iranian national after the interior minister signed a deportation order, paving the way for Vakili Rad's return to Iran.

Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy was charged Tuesday with illegal campaign financing in relation to his 2012 re-election bid, meaning he is now facing two possible trials in court as he contemplates an attempt to return to office.

DUBAI: The nuclear deal is done. Now it's time to talk business. While it will likely be months before sanctions on Iran ease, business and political leaders are wasting no time in trying to tap into a large and what they hope will be a lucrative Iranian market. Germany is dispatching a large trade delegation to Tehran on Sunday. Spain has a similar trip planned, and France's top diplomat is eyeing a visit too. Ads for European cars and luxury goods are starting to reappear in Tehran. Airlines in Dubai are fast adding new Iran routes to meet growing demand.

PARIS — A judge on Thursday filed preliminary charges against former President Nicolas Sarkozy in a campaign finance case, formally placing him under investigation over allegations that he illegally took donations from France’s richest woman on way to his 2007 election victory.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy spoke by phone on Thursday with a French academic on trial in Iran for allegedly taking part in anti-government protests, his office said.Sarkozy telephoned Clotilde Reiss as she was celebrating Christmas in the French embassy in Tehran, where she has stayed since being granted bail in August."The head of state assured her of his total support and said he hoped to see her return to France soon to be with her own people," the Elysee palace said in a statement.

Clotilde Reiss, the French academic arrested and held in Iran since last July has been released and is on the way home, the French president's office announced Sunday."The President of the Republic will receive her and her family at the Elysee Palace as soon as she arrives in Paris," at around 1:00 pm (1100 GMT), said the statement."Clotilde Reiss has boarded a French government plane at Dubai airport and is currently en route towards France," the statement added.